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PreventingPreventingand and

Reducing Reducing Adolescent Adolescent ViolenceViolence

22

What is Violence?What is Violence?

Phsttt.. Rarow!!

Arghhhh! Ruff…Ruf

33

Common Types of Common Types of ViolenceViolence

• Aggressive and intimidating posturing or bullying

• Verbal threats of violence

• Physical fighting, sometimes including weapons

• Violent outbursts when challenged or confronted

• Date violence

• Gang violence

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What influences What influences youth violence?youth violence?

• Belief that violence is an acceptable problem solving method or reaction

• Learned violence from family, community and media models

• Poor impulse control

• History of abuse or trauma

• Youth at-risk characteristics

• Risky Behavior

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Assessing Assessing Adolescent Adolescent ViolenceViolence• History of violent and

aggressive behavior

• Poor impulse control

• Poor anger management and problem solving skills

• History of other risky or inappropriate behaviors

• Prior history of abuse, neglect or trauma

• Family or community violence that results in the belief that violence is acceptable

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Adolescent Adolescent Violence Violence Information Information SourcesSources • U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office

of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

• U. S. Surgeon General

• Center for Disease Control

• Blueprints for Violence Prevention

• American Medical Association

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Programs Targeting Programs Targeting Adolescent ViolenceAdolescent Violence

Anger Management, Problem Solving & Social Skills Training Programs

• Aggression Replacement Training

• Anger Management & Anger Management Skills Training

• Cognitive Mediation Training

• Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training

• Moral Reasoning Development Program

• Positive Adolescent Choices Training (PACT)

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Programs Targeting Programs Targeting Adolescent ViolenceAdolescent Violence

Bullying and Gangs

• Bullying Prevention Program

• Gang Resistance Education & Training (G.R.E.A.T.)

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Programs Targeting Programs Targeting Adolescent ViolenceAdolescent Violence

Family Therapy

• Functional Family Therapy

• Multi-systemic Family Therapy

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Programs Targeting Programs Targeting Adolescent ViolenceAdolescent Violence

Mentoring Programs

• Big Brothers Big Sisters

• Quantum Opportunities Program

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Programs Targeting Programs Targeting Adolescent ViolenceAdolescent Violence

Out of Home Home Placement

• Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

• Multi-modal Approach

• Residential Therapeutic Milieu

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Anger Management Anger Management Training ComponentsTraining Components

• What is anger?

• What causes anger?

• How is anger different from aggression?

• What triggers anger in you?

• What are the external and internal cues that tell you that you’re angry?

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Addressing Anger Addressing Anger ManagementManagement(Reducing Anger Responses)(Reducing Anger Responses)

• Stop and think

• Attend to relevant cues

• Identify alternative responses and the benefits and consequences of each alternative

• What are alternatives to violent responses?

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Addressing Anger Addressing Anger ManagementManagement(Reducing Anger Responses)(Reducing Anger Responses)

• Use self control and relaxation skills

• Use assertive techniques

• Resist taunts

• Self evaluation

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8 Step Social Problem 8 Step Social Problem Solving ModelSolving Model

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77

6655

44

33

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1. Is there a problem?

2. Stop and think.

3. Why is there a conflict?

4. What do I want?

5. Think of solutions.

6. Look at consequences.

7. Choose what to do and do it.

8. Evaluate the results.Guerra, N. G. & Slaby, R. G. (1990). Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent

offenders: 2. Intervention. Developmental Psychology, 26, 269-277.

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Pro-Social SkillsPro-Social Skills• Communication skills

• Negotiating skills

• Giving and receiving positive and negative feedback

• Recognizing and following social norms

• Controlling angry, surly, or sulking behavior

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Pro-Social SkillsPro-Social Skills• Using assertiveness to

express own needs

• Using appropriate conversational skills

• Social networking

• Avoiding alcohol and drug use

• Appropriate use of affection and sexual interactions

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Bullying…Bullying…• Is repetitive,

aggressive behavior that exercises power over the victim

• Includes behaviors such as teasing, gossiping, social exclusion, extortion, verbal attacks, and physical attacks.

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Bullying Prevention Bullying Prevention ProgramProgram

• School-based program developed by Dan Olweus

• Emphasizes increased supervision of individual students, classrooms, and school “hot spots.”

• A school-wide conference assesses specific needs

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Bullying Prevention Bullying Prevention ProgramProgram• Consequences for

bullying behavior

• Empowers students to resist bullying

• Specific rules about bullying

• Rules are evaluated regularly in the classroom.

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The Gang Resistance The Gang Resistance Education and Training Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program(G.R.E.A.T.) Program

• School-based gang prevention program

• Nine-week curriculum for middle-school students presented by uniformed police officers.

• Topics presented include: – impact of crime on

communities and victims

– conflict management

– personal responsibility and goal setting

– meeting basic needs without joining a gang

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Confronting Beliefs Confronting Beliefs that Support Violencethat Support Violence

• Violence is not an effective way to solve problems or feel powerful or be in control when confronted.

• Consequences of violence

• Alternatives to violence that better solve the problem,

• Effects of community prejudice and ways to overcome that prejudice.

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Family Therapy Family Therapy ProgramsPrograms

• Individualized treatment plans

• Focus on strengths and resilience,

• Use of multiple levels of intervention (e.g., individual, family, community, peers, school)

• Improve the relationships between youth and parents

• Improving parental limit setting, monitoring and discipline

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Functional Family Functional Family TherapyTherapy

• Short-term intervention

• Family and individual counseling

• Daily telephone or personal contacts with the family

• Meetings with community resources

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Three Phases of Three Phases of Functional Family Functional Family TherapyTherapy

IIIIII

IIII

II

Generalization

Change of Behavior

Engagement and Motivation

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Multi-systemic Multi-systemic TherapyTherapy

• Home-based treatment

• Developed by Henggeler & associates

• Individual and family counseling

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Three-step Strategy of Three-step Strategy of Multi-systemic TherapyMulti-systemic Therapy

IIIIII

IIII

II

prevent or block the risk factors from attacking the family

use protective factors to increase resilience

Identify and neutralize risk factors

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MST Intervention MST Intervention PrinciplesPrinciples

• Understand the “fit” between problems and systemic context

• Emphasize the positive and use systemic strengths

• Promote responsible behavior and decrease irresponsible behavior

• Present-focused and action-oriented

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MST Intervention MST Intervention PrinciplesPrinciples

• Target sequences of behavior that maintain the problems

• Developmentally Appropriate

• Daily weekly effort by family members.

• Effectiveness is evaluated continuously

• Promote treatment generalization

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Principles of Structure Principles of Structure & Limit Setting& Limit Setting

• Supervise activities

• Monitor youth whereabouts

• Make rules or expectations clear

• Help youth understand the rationale of rules

• Give youth input into rule formation

• Outcomes should be predictable

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Principles of Structure Principles of Structure & Limit Setting& Limit Setting• Rewards include social

reinforcement and tangible reinforcement

• Natural consequences are more effective

• Avoid long-term consequences

• Flexible rules are more effective

• Following rules is a learning process

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Did Parents…Did Parents…• Monitor adolescent’s

whereabouts?

• Make rules clear, flexible and predictable?

• Explain rationale for rules and give teen some input?

• Use natural, short-term consequences?

• Include rewards?

• Remember that following rules is a learning process?

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Mentoring Mentoring ProgramsPrograms

3434

Workers as MentorsWorkers as Mentors• What did you do that

provided mentoring?

• What was the response by the individual?

• Were there ever times when a youth let you know that something you did meant a lot to them?

• Who did you mentor?

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Effective Residential Effective Residential Care StrategiesCare Strategies

• Structure and behavior regulation

• Consistency and predictability of adaptive demands

• Autonomy and individuality

• Emotional support

• Trustworthiness of staff

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Multidimensional Multidimensional Treatment Foster Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) Is…Care (MTFC) Is…• a community-based

alternative to residential or group home placement

• adult involvement and mentoring is more effective than peer group interventions in reducing problem behavior.

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MTFC ComponentsMTFC Components• Individualized, structured

foster home placement

• Clear rules and consequences

• Focus on adolescent’s strengths

• Daily telephone contact and weekly meetings

• Weekly individual counseling

• Weekly sessions with parents

• Gradually increasing time for home visitation

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Skills Training Skills Training ComponentsComponents

• Anger management

• Problem-solving

• Pro-social skills

• Increased awareness of consequences of violence and refuting beliefs supporting violence

• Effective use of structure, limit-setting, and consequences by parents and other caretakers

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Common Common Characteristics of Characteristics of Treatment Treatment ApproachesApproaches• Tailored to meet the

individual needs

• Involve collaboration and coordination

• Use a strengths and resilience approach

• Encourage positive relationships with parents and non-parental adults

4040

Primary Change Primary Change MechanismsMechanisms

• Behavioral changes

• Cognitive changes

• Focus on learning

• Focus on positive

• Intensive, collaborative, coordinated treatment

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Implementing Implementing InterventionsInterventions

• Fitting components into present treatment plans

• Some treatment interventions are already part of the treatment plan or are logical extensions of elements already in the plan

• Collaborating with existing service providers

• You don’t have to do everything yourself

• Identifying existing services and referral networks

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Implementing Implementing Interventions (cont)Interventions (cont)• Accommodating agency

structure and policies

• Identifying barriers to implementing strategies for preventing or reducing adolescent violence

• Using supportive evidence of intervention effectiveness

• Using a step by step approach (all items do not have to be implemented at once)

• Emphasizing linkage with other service providers (unless that is one of the barriers)

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The End…The End…